1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an apparatus for storing and displaying baseball caps, visors and the like, having a bill. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a means for holding baseball caps by the button on the top of the cap and displaying caps either singly or along a strip of cap holders in a vertical or horizontal orientation.
2. Description of Related Art Includinq Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. Sections 1.97-1.99
Many people collect baseball caps, tennis visors and the like (hereinafter "baseball caps") and care for their collection diligently. Many companies give baseball caps to customers to advertise and promote their products, making it relatively easy to collect large numbers of baseball caps. The owners of these collections like to display their caps and show them off to their friends. Many of these collections number in the hundreds or thousands of caps. Storing or displaying sizable collections presents a problem to even the most fastidious baseball cap collector.
Efforts to overcome this problem has lead to a number of issued United States patents and other devices.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,190, issued to Moreland on Mar. 26, 1991, discloses a "Sports Cap Rack" consisting of a longitudinal member designed to be mounted vertically on a wall and having a plurality of spaced apertures. The second and separate element has an arcuate arm designed to fit the front of a cap. The arcuate arm is attached to a straight member that is inserted into an aperture in the vertical member. The device looks like a series of deer antlers mounted on a vertical pole. The antler portion fits inside the cap, holding it like an abbreviated shelf. This display rack requires assembly, either by the manufacturer or the ultimate user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,153 issued to Hilty et al. on Jun. 16, 1987, discloses a "Clothing Suspension Apparatus" for holding and displaying a plurality of baseball caps in a vertical orientation. The holder includes a vertical cylindrical stalk having a number of cap button holders formed about a circular collar that slides along the stalk. The button holder comprises a button engagement member which includes a slot that is wider at its front or open end than at its closed or back end. The button on the top of the crown slides rearward into the slot, which is horizontally orientated. This device requires the manufacture and assembly of separate parts and presents an untidy appearance when not filled with caps. Caps so displayed are pulled toward the front, or open end, of the slot by the force of gravity. To prevent the caps from falling out of the slot requires considerable frictional engagement between the button and the slot, causing undue wear on the button, which holds the different pieces of the crown together. In addition, this device is unsuitable for mounting caps that do not have a button at the top of the crown.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,669, issued to Simlow et al. on Dec. 20, 1977, discloses a "Display Belt Hanger" of the type commonly used in retail stores to hand and display men's belts and includes a hole for inserting the tongue of a belt buckle for displaying a belt vertically.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,535,136, issued to Jacobson on Dec. 26, 1950, discloses a "Collapsible Hat Holder" designed to hold hats with full brims all the way around the crown of the hat, such as cowboy hats, by holding the brim. The holder is mounted vertically on a wall and displays a number of hats along a vertical axis. A hinged rod pivots downward by gravitational force at each hat-holding location and tends to hold a hat in place when a hat is placed under the pivoting rod. Two parallel sets of rods are used so that one rod presses against the hat brim along both sides of the crown. This hat holder is obviously unsuitable for holding or displaying baseball caps because they do not have a brim on each side of the crown.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,461,178, issued to Reinke on Feb. 8, 1949, discloses a "Hat and Tie Holder" that is basically a wire clothes hanger bent into a shape that allows it to receive two hats in detents in the upper portion of the holder and to receive neckties along a horizontal member below the hats. The hats are held by the spring tension of the hanger when the circumference of the crown is pressed into the similarly shaped detent. This hat holder is obviously not suitable for displaying a large number of hats, and is not suitable for displaying baseball caps at all because a baseball cap does not have a shaped and resilient crown.
Also available in the related art is a device called "Cap Capers--The Ultimate Display for Baseball Caps." An actual commercially available model includes the word "patented," but no patent number. A search of the related art failed to locate a corresponding patent. The device consists of an inverted T-shaped rigid plastic frame having an outward projecting horizontal member at the top. The outward projecting member includes a slot for accepting the button on the top of the cap. At each end of the arms of the inverted T-shape is a vertical slot for inserting a portion of the crown of the cap. The device includes an aperture for securing it to a wall and also includes one part of a two-part hook and loop fastener set, thereby providing an alternative means for fastening the device to a wall. This device is capable of holing only a single cap. The use of the two vertical slots for retaining the lower portion of the crown prevents the cap from falling out of the slot and greatly reduces the frictional engagement required between the button of the cap and the slot, thus overcoming some of the difficulty with Hilty et al. '153, infra. It is awkward and time consuming to use, however, because it is difficult to insert the lower portion of the crown into the two slots and it is difficult to align the cap in the slots so that the cap presents a symmetrical appearance when mounted.
As the foregoing discussion makes clear, the related art fails to provide a means for displaying baseball caps that is aesthetically pleasing or uses space efficiently, and that is inexpensive to manufacture, ship, store and that requires no assembly.